A Journey Across Two Lands
by Direwolfgirl
Summary: Halt has gone missing and Will sets off to find him. Will finds himself in a mysterious land called Middle Earth, where he meets a mysterious half-breed named Silens, along with an assasin named Vereor, a scout named Venatora, a ranger king named Aragorn, and an elven king named Legolas. Behind them is Will's and Horace's daughters. Can they save Halt before it is too late?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: My friend and I do not own Lord of the Rings or Ranger's Apprentice. But we do own our lovely OC's, so no one can use them without giving us credit. (Btw, our new year's resolution was to own the listed series, but it didn't work… Enjoy) **

**EDIT: Hey, its flipy010. After posting the first few chapters, we realized there were no breakers! So I'm going around, editing the chapters. I'm also filling in a little more on details we missed, so if something doesn't quite make sense, or if I put the breakers in the wrong spot, just let me know and I'll fix it! (PS: yes, I know this chapter is short, but, I promise, the next chapters will be longer)**

Prologue- Into the night

Halt closed the door quietly behind him, ensuring that his wife, Lady Pauline, would not wake up. Seeming to slip into the shadows, bow in hand, Halt traveled silently through the hallways of Castle Redmont. Dim beams of moonlight filtered through the windows and splashed upon the floors, but he took no notice of the strange and eerie beauty that currently filled the castle. Tracing the route instinctively inside his mind, he made his way to the stables. Abelard His horse, looked at him expectantly, but Halt slipped past him silently.

"Not today, Abelard," He told the horse softly, but pausing rub its nose affectionately all the same. Continuing on his way, Halt felt the burning need to shoot something, even if it was a tree, visit him once again. Several years had passed since he had married Lady Pauline. He loved her, and would never do anything to hurt her, but as days had passed, he found he was no longer going out on missions any more.

Ever since his action packed years of training Will, his current life seemed dull in comparison. Halt slipped past the guards with ease - like all rangers, Halt could become virtually invisible, a skill he was putting to use at that very moment. Therefore, it was surprise that no one noticed the Ranger run off into the night, little more than a mere shadow. He planned to return later that night, after he had loosed dozens of arrows.

But, alas, Lady Pauline woke up that morning to herself alone, with no traces of where Halt had gone.


	2. Chapter 1

**Hey, flipy010 here! Direwolfgirl and I decided to share her account. We don't own Lord of the Rings or Ranger's Apprentice. We were aiming to, but sadly it never worked out. Please review and let us know what you think!**

Chapter one – Late Night News

He was in one of his moods again, Alyss sighed, glancing over her shoulder to look at Will. He was sitting in his chair, staring blankly at the fl0or, his hands folded in his lap. Charlie said nothing. Charlie, Alyss thought sadly, sighing to herself once more. This must be hard for her… Coupled with the loss of Halt, she's forced to deal with her father seeming to deteriorate in front of her. Alyss turned back to the savory stew simmering in front of her. Behind her, Ebony scooted up to Will's feet and pawed at his hand.

"Not now, Ebony," Will said quietly, gently pushing her paw away. Ebony whimpered again, tilting her head to the side, her mismatched eyes making her look all the more innocent.

"Here, Ebony," Charlie said quietly, patting her leg to get the dog's attention. Perking her ears up, Ebony scooted across the floor and over to Charlie. Silence filled the cabin once more as Charlie proceeded to rub Ebony between her ears.

More to fill the silence than anything, Alyss began to putter around the kitchen loudly, the dishes clinking and clanging. "Charlotte," Alyss said gently, "come and help me with dinner." Charlie looked up – the mere use of her full name let her know she wasn't to argue.

"Yes, mother," Charlie murmured, standing up and gliding over silently.

"Tuck your hair behind you, Charlie. It'll get in your food," Alyss sighed, tucking a strand of Charlie's long brown hair behind her ear once more. But to no avail, as it simply sprang back again. Alyss sighed; Charlie had inherited her father's looks, along with the messy hair that just did not want to stay neat.

"Its fine, mom," Charlie muttered as she re-tucked her hair behind her ear, where it promptly un-tucked itself. The warm chocolate eyes that looked so much like her father glanced up at her face, an impatient light gleaming in them. They stood like that for a moment, mother and daughter simply staring into one another's eyes. A silent message passed between them. "I'll set the table," Charlie said abruptly, grabbing some nearby bowls.

"Um, yes," Alyss agreed, caught off guard at the sudden change. Gripping the heavy pot of stew firmly, she carried it carefully over to the table, where she ladled out a fair amount into each bowl. The clinking of spoons against bowls filled the cabin.

"Will," Alyss began attentively, as she noticed her husband wasn't eating. "Won't you eat something?"

"How can I eat, Alyss, when I can think about is Halt?" Will replied hollowly, looking at her sadly.

"I'm sure he's fine, Will," Alyss assured him. "He's probably just off on some mission."

"I know, but something just doesn't feel right," Will sighed, but began to eat his soup anyways. Somehow Alyss felt it was more for an excuse not to talk rather than the fact that he was hungry.

Outside, Tug and Storm neighed in greeting. Both Alyss and Charlie looked up, surprised. They would only have neighed to another ranger horse, and there was only one ranger that it might be.

Charlie flew out of her seat and to the door, nearly toppling over Ebony, who raced over to and began to bark fiercely at the door. But Will beat Charlie to the door and flung it open, just missing whacking Ebony in the head. Standing in the doorway, fist raised as if he were about to knock, stood a tall cloaked figure.

"Gilan!" Will practically shouted. "Any news?! Have you found him?! Is he just on a mission?! Is there trouble?! Does he need our help?! Is-"

"Whoa, there Will! Slow down!" Gilan laughed good-naturedly. "I haven't even stepped inside and you're already hurling a barrage of questions at me!"

"Sorry," Will said, seeming to deflate slightly.

"Hello, Gilan," Charlie said, poking her head over Will's shoulder to look at the other ranger.

"Hello Charlie," Gilan grinned, lowering his eyes to watch Ebony squeeze between Will's legs to launch herself at him. "And hello to you too, Ebony," laughed Gilan, bending down to give her a quick pat on the head.

"Good evening, Gilan," Alyss said composedly from the table, from which she had not moved. "Why don't you come inside?" she continued, glancing meaningfully at Will and Charlie.

"…Oh, right," Will said, stepping back to let Gilan inside. Charlie grabbed Ebony, effectively stopping her in her attempts to reach higher than Gilan's leg, before more or less dragging her back inside. His grin widening, Gilan stepped inside and lowered his hood.

His eyes swept around the cabin, his eyes taking in the pot of stew, the chairs hastily thrown back from the table, and Alyss, who was still seated and was composedly sipping her soup. "Smells good, Alyss," Gilan complimented cheerfully, ignoring Charlie, who was practically wrestling Ebony in attempts to stop her form tackling Gilan.

"Thank you, Gilan," Alyss accepted the compliment gracefully. "Would you like some? We have plenty to spare, and _then_-" she glanced meaningfully at Will once again, who looked like he was dying to speak, "-we can talk about why you're here." Alyss glanced over at Charlie in some surprise. "Charlie, dear, stop wrestling with the dog and come eat."

Gasping and panting, Charlie released Ebony, who immediately sprang up as if she hadn't just been wrestling with a sixteen year old. "Dumb dog," Charlie muttered jokingly as she heaved herself off the floor. An expectant silence filled the cabin once more as they resumed their meal, this time with Gilan among them.

"Ah, that meal lived up to its smell, Alyss," Gilan said contentedly, stretching his arms.

"Thank you, Gilan," Alyss smiled, going around and picking up the dishes that had been picked clean.

"I can't take it any longer!" Will shouted, making everyone around the table jump and stare at him. "Have you or have you not found out anything?!" he shot at Gilan.

Silence filled the room for what seemed the hundredth time that day. Gilan held Will's gaze until he dropped his eyes and angrily muttered "Sorry…"

"I should think so," Gilan said stiffly, "After all, I haven't even gotten so much as a 'hello' from you since I arrived." Will said nothing, just stared angrily at the table, his jaw clenched. There was a tense pause. "As it turns out, I have," Gilan finally relented. "I followed his tracks all the way to his archery range, and that's where things got weird. It looks like he was attacked."

"Attacked? Halt? No way! No one in their right mind would even consider it!" Charlie burst out, her eyes wide.

"Well, whatever the reason, these people did. And they succeeded. From what I can tell, they left… and took him with them," Gilan said darkly.


	3. Chapter 2

**Hey, it's flipy010 again! If anyone here is wondering where the humor in this is, don't worry, it comes later. For now, it's more of a serious story. For all of our viewers out there, thanks for sticking with us this far! We STILL don't own either Ranger's Apprentice or Lord of The Rings. It's true. Nobody cry about it. Yes. We know this was posted quickly. We're on fire! **

**Direwolfgirl: Quick! Someone get the fire extinguisher!**

**Flipy010: *burns down the house***

**Direwolfgirl: *screams and flees* **

Chapter two – A plan

"Are you sure about this, Will?" Alyss asked quietly, leaning against the stable doorway.

"Absolutely," Will replied stiffly, saddling up Tug and tightening the girths. "Gilan is too busy with his Ranger duties, and I can't ask Horace to leave his family."

"You know he would want you to tell him about this," Alyss argued. Will said nothing and simply moved on to check the saddle bags. "He would come with you. This is _important!_" When Will still didn't respond, she cried, "You have to at least say goodbye!" Will hesitated.

"I can't," he said finally. "If I do, he'll want to know why. And if he knows why, he'll want to come, which I can't allow. I already took him away from Cassandra many times when we went on adventures before, I can't do the same thing now."

"He'll find out anyways," Alyss countered. "Mirabelle and Charlie are like sisters, I doubt Charlie wouldn't tell her a thing. And of course, once Mirabelle knows, she's bound to tell her parents. Think of how hurt Horace would feel! It'll seem like you don't trust him enough to tell him."

"But I _do_ trust him, Alyss. I'll explain once I get back. He'll understand," he heaved himself into the saddle, looking down at Alyss. "Tell Charlie I'll be back as soon as I can."

"And what if you don't come back?! What'll I do? I'll never know what happened – and neither will Charlie."

"I'll come back," Will said flatly, guiding Tug out of the stables.

"Will!" Alyss burst out. Will paused and glanced over his shoulder at her, his eyes blinking rapidly. She ran over to him and Tug and grasped his hand. "…Just… Be careful!"

Will laughed lightly. "When am I not?" he joked.

* * *

Charlie stuffed her belongings into her bag. Sprinting out of her room and into the living room, she flung open the door. "MOM! I'M GOING TO SEE MIRABELLE!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.

"I CAN SEE THAT!" Alyss screamed back. Grinning, Charlie slammed the door and sprinted over to the stables, where her horse, Storm, was munching on some feed. Storm had been a gift from Old Bob, with whom she had helped out with the horses constantly. Eventually, her and Storm formed a close bond, so, for her fourteenth birthday, Old Bob gave her to her as his birthday gift to her.

After tightening the girth straps upon her ranger horse, she swung up into the saddle easily and they were soon racing across the field. Storm's hooves flashed across the ground, becoming a mere blur as they raced towards Castle Redmont. They hurtled past the villagers, who, used to her impatient form of travel, simply moved out hastily before continuing with their work.

Storm thundered across the bridge before pulling to an abrupt stop right in front of the guards, who flinched, half expecting to be run over.

"Is Mirabelle here?" Charlie demanded, holding out her wrist so the guard could clearly see the bracelet Mirabelle had given her. The bracelet acted like a key, allowing her through the gates to see her anytime she was at Castle Redmont.

"Welcome back, Charlie," said one of the guards, recognizing her face and letting her pass without so much as a glance at the bracelet. "She's inside her rooms, talking with her mother, I believe."

"Thanks," Charlie grinned, urging Storm forward, this time at a slower and calm pace. Trotting along, Charlie would through the crowd to the stables. Sliding out of the saddle, Charlie led Storm into one of the only open stalls and simply dropped the reins. She knew Storm couldn't be stolen, and wouldn't wander. She patted Storm affectionately on the head before slipping into the crowd to battle her way to the castle doors.

Charlie burst out of the crowd, panting, to collapse on the castle steps. She never knew fighting a crowd could drain so much of her energy. "Charlie!" a booming voice called, making her jump. Turning around, she glanced around quizzically to find the source of the voice.

"Uncle Horace!" She cried cheerfully, her exhaustion forgotten as she bounded up the steps to leap into his open arms.

"Whoa!" Horace laughed, pretending to lose his balance and stagger around. "Since when did you get so big?"

Charlie laughed, and pulled out of his arms, pushing her hair out of her eyes. "Don't be stupid! I saw you only a month ago when we visited Castle Araluen."

"Exactly!" he cried. "How did you grow so much in such a short amount of time?" Charlie looked at him seriously, her face deadpan. He looked back seriously, his face equally deadpan. A moment passed. Their mouths twitched before they burst into laughter. "I assume you're here to see Mirabelle?" Horace asked once his laughter died out.

"Yup," Charlie responded cheerfully. "One of the guards said she was in her room with Aunt Cassandra."

"She is, and, between you and me, I think she'll thank you for saving her. Cassandra is trying to teach how to properly act like a princess." He patted her on a quick soldier before jogging down the steps to continue on his way.

_Okay, just hope I don't get lost in here… again…_ Charlie thought to herself. _No, its okay, I remember this place! _She pounded up three sets of stairs, scurried down six hallways, and looked in three of the wrong rooms before she got to Mirabelle's. She could hear Cassandra's instructions from the other side of the door.

"…A princess does not slouch!" Cassandra's voice cried.

"URGH!" Mirabelle yelled back. "I'm in _my_ room! I can slouch here if I want!"

Charlie grinned before standing up perfectly straight and knocking before entering with her hands folded. "I apologize for the interruption," she said formally, giving a slight bow to Cassandra, "but I request an audience with your daughter."

Her aunt hid a grin before replying, equally formally. "You may have it. And it wouldn't go amiss if you taught Mirabelle a thing or two about manners." She walked elegantly to the door, closing it behind her.

Mirabelle glared at her. "I. Hate. You."

Charlie laughed, collapsing upon one of the couches and sighing dramatically. "I was just trying to help," she said innocently.

"Please," Mirabelle snorted. "And I thought you were supposed to be my friend."

Charlie laughed. "I am! But anyways, we have some serious matters to discuss."

"Serious matters? Like what?"

"Halt has gone missing," Charlie blurted. "And I have a plan on how to find him."

**DUN DUN DUN! Cliffhanger! Please review so we can start repairing the house!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Direwolfgirl: Now introducing the humor :D We have no reviews :C! How are we supposed to pay for the house now? And no, we still do not own Lord Of The Rings or Ranger's Apprentice…**

**Flipy010: And here we are, introducing our OCs. They're the ones who have more of the humor centered around, but we'll get more into the humor with them later. Please enjoy and review ^^**

Chapter Three- Oh crap and a song

"Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!" Vereor said, watching her mother warily. "Mom, calm down and put down the knife. Now I'm going to leave, and you are _not_ going to skewer me, okay?"

"Traitor!" Her mother screeched, her black hair scattering messily and her blue eyes burning angrily. In her hand was a sharp knife, which she was waving around like a lunatic.

"What's with all the racket?!" A deep voice called from upstairs. Vereor winced – her father was awake. She didn't want both of her elven parents coming after her.

"Oh crap. Dad, just go back to sleep. You're just dreaming… Again." She heard silence from upstairs.

"… Okay…" The deep voice of her father replied. Vereor breathed a silent breath of relief – she was lucky her dad was so gullible. Once again, she turned her attention to her mother.

"Now you listen to me, missy," her mother spat furiously. "If you think I'm just going to let you go, like it's nothing – you're dead wrong. I don't trust you a second with our secrets; I'd be willing to bet you'll spill all our secrets to your little friend."

"I swear, mother, I won't breathe a word of any of your plans, so just let me leave."

"I don't believe you, you traitorous little snake," Her mother hissed, circling the table.

"You don't have to," Vereor insisted. "But the assassin's code states that you at least give me a week's head start before coming after me." _Ha!_ Vereor thought triumphantly. _I've got her now…_ And she was right – her mother glared at her and began to turn away. Just as Vereor let out a sigh of relief, she had whipped around and slammed the knife point down into the table right next to her hand.

"Just remember, Vereor," snarled her mother, "one week. That's all you've got before we're free to come after you. Vereor said nothing, but simply watched as her mother turned around and climbed the wooden stairs to her bedroom.

Vereor took a deep breath and smiled to herself before slipping out of the house. She pulled up short, staring at a cloaked figure that stood in the rain, the hood of their cloak pulled up. "Hi, Venatora."

"Do you have to go? Can't you just stay here?" Venatora asked.

Vereor laughed quietly. "And stay here with my _psycho_ family? No thank you." Venatora just nodded and handed Vereor the reins to Terror. Yin was already curled up in the contraption that Venatora had made for her so she could ride in a saddle. "Then I suppose this is goodbye." Venatora looked up at Vereor as she mounted Terror.

"Only for now. I know that we will meet again." Vereor then nudged Terror and she took off, galloping through the muddy path. Venatora turned and mounted Nox, galloping the other way.

* * *

Venatora rubbed Yang between his ears, staring out at the setting sun. Legolas walked silently up behind her, resting a hand on her shoulder. "You miss her still, don't you?"

Venatora nodded slightly. "She was my best friend; I knew her since I was a child. And then there's Yin and Yang…" She trailed off again, looking at her wolf. Yang looked back at her, his yellow eyes glittering in the fading light, his white fur appearing to glow.

Legolas nodded. "Why don't you try to find her?"

Venatora turned to face him. "I can't just leave you. You need an adviser with a cool head who would tell you what you needed to hear, not what you wanted to hear."

Legolas nodded. "True, but what good would my adviser be if she was worried about her friend?"

Venatora glared up at him. "And what kind of friend would I be, leaving you at the mercy of the noblewomen who knock down your doors every day?"

"A very good friend because you would have been leaving to find a mutual friend, whom I'm worried about as well."

"I'm not leaving Legolas."

"What if, as king, I ordered you to go?"

"I would ignore your order."

Legolas sighed. "Would you do it to save Yang the sadness of missing Yin?"

Venatora paused. "Maybe… Probably."

Legolas then smiled. "Then go now, I'll be fine. If the kings of Mirkwood in the past held out against the onslaught of Noblewomen, then I will too."

Venatora smiled and hugged her friend. "That I have no doubt of."

* * *

Venatora listened to the chatter in the trees, trying to pick out anything useful that might help her find Vereor. She really missed the dark-haired elf. Nox snorted and stamped her feet, her breath misting in the chilly morning air. Yang whined before trotting off into the forest to hunt. Venatora nudged Nox forward. She grabbed an apple from her bag, munching on it as she rode. It was only when she paused to talk to a hawk that she found out that Vereor actually did pass the way she was headed.

_If she was a dark-haired elf on an ill-tempered mare, then I saw her pass into Gondor, about two weeks ago. _

_Thank you for your help! _Venatora called after the hawk as it took flight. She picked up the speed and Nox was soon flying through the trees, a black blur with a wild fire of hair flying out behind it. Yang soon joined her, and Venatora released her voice in one of the rare moments when she sang. The forest seemed to pause it everything that had been happening, everyone content to listen to the lilting voice of the red-haired elf. Leaves twirled around her on the breeze and foxes and wolves lent their voices to the song that had no words. Nox flew over fallen logs and dodged trailing branches on the wild flight through the forest.

A fire burned quietly as Venatora rolled over in her blanket, listening to the sounds of the forest settling down for the night. Yang again slipped into the night, his fur glowing an unearthly white. A small bud of worry for Vereor faded as Venatora neared her destination.


	5. Chapter 4

**Why hello there, everybody! (Once again) it's flipy010! I'd like to thank everybody for sticking with this story so far! Direwolfgirl and I have been working really hard on this story and I really like how it's turning out! You know, I'm getting tired of always putting a disclaimer here. We need to hurry up and buy the right to those stories. Wish us luck! But we still don't own RA or LOTR ._.**

**Direwolfgirl: If someone hadn't accidently burned the letters to the authors, we would already have the rights!**

**Flipy010: HEY! YOU PROMISED WE WOULDN'T TALK ABOUT THAT!**

Chapter four –

"Wait, wait, hold on a second. You can't just say something like that and not give me the details!" Mirabelle interrupted Charlie mid-flow.

Charlie sighed but relented. She gave her all the details, from her father's Depression, to Gilan's visit, and to her father leaving to go searching.

Mirabelle let out a low whistle. "I never thought I would see the day Grandpa Halt was kidnapped." The older girl muttered.

"I know, I didn't either. Dad went off alone, but let's face it, if Granddad Halt was defeated, he could be too," Charlie said reasonably. Mirabelle nodded in agreement.

Mirabelle groaned and rubbed her temple. "But what can we do? We can hardly go after him… Can we?"

"We can," Charlie smirked. "I brought a list of the things we'll need." And she sprang of the couch, wiping the table in front of her clear of all items.

"Charlie!" Mirabelle cried sharply as a cup shattered upon the floor.

Charlie waved her hand impatiently, now digging around in her pack. "No… no… not this one… no…. ah ha! Here it is!" She cried, pulling out a rather crumpled piece of paper. "Oh… it looks like it kind of ripped on the way here… Erm, anyways," she said, clearing her throat. Charlie turned and smoothed the crumpled paper out upon the table. Mirabelle frowned, looking the list over.

"Do we really need all of this?" She asked. "I'm not sure if I have half of this stuff."

"We don't need it, but it would be really helpful if we did. And it's okay, 'cause I have some of this stuff too, remember?" Charlie reassured her.

"Hmm… I still don't see how this will work. We might be prepared, but how am I supposed to sneak out? I can hardly go anywhere without being swarmed by guards." Mirabelle pointed out.

"I didn't see any guards out there earlier," Charlie said, surprised.

"Mom dismissed them," Mirabelle sighed, waving her hand in dismissal. "I bet they're back out there now." Charlie pursed her lips and looked around the room. Her eyes lit upon the window, and the story of how her father tried to rescue her mother from the tower came rushing to her mind.

Mirabelle saw her expression and slowly followed her gaze. "Oh no… Oh NO. There is _no way_ I am going through that!"

"Oh come on-"

"No! I'm sorry, but there is no way I will _ever_ leave through the window!"

"It's no biggie, just a little-"

"NO BIGGIE?" Mirabelle screeched. "It's only like there's the possibility of me falling and DYING! Or you for that matter!"

Charlie stared at her in shock, before she laughed. "Please, as if _I _would fall… I can see you doing it but me, no…"

"Charlie!" Mirabelle cried. "This is no joke!"

"Okay, okay, fine, we won't go through the window."

"_Thank_ you," Mirabelle said stiffly. She closed her eyes for a moment while she regained her composure. "Okay, how about this…"

The guards never knew what hit them. One moment they were perfectly alert, and then there was a brief flash of pain in their sides, a tiny pinprick. The next moment they were lying on the ground, watching two pairs of feet pound off down the hallway as their vision darkened.

"We just knocked out two guards," Mirabelle said blankly, sitting astride her white mare, Silver.

"I think you mean _I _knocked out two guards," Charlie said proudly.

"We just knocked out two guards," Mirabelle repeated blankly.

"Once again, _I_ just knocked out two guards, not we," Charlie corrected, shifting in her saddle.

Mirabelle broke out of her daze and glared at her. "Okay, fine, _you_ just knocked out two guards."

"With darts," Charlie added proudly.

Mirabelle snorted. "I still don't see why we had to bring the dog."

"What?! Not bring Ebony?! _Have you lost your mind?!_"

"Says the girl who just attacked _two_ guards!" Mirabelle shot back.

"Branch," Charlie warned her just as Mirabelle got a face-full of leaves. "Told you so," grinned Charlie as she watched Mirabelle spit leaves out of her mouth. Ebony barked happily and snapped at the falling leaves.

Silence fell over them as their horses picked their way through the undergrowth.

"Are you sure we're on the right path?" Mirabelle asked eventually.

"Definitely," Charlie nodded, her sharp eyes picking up the evidence of his passage.

"But how can you tell?" Mirabelle pushed.

"Well, like here," Charlie pointed out a hoof print imprinted clearly in the dirt. "Things like this, they're easy to see. But if there's nothing like that, we look for things like a broken branch, or crushed grass."

"I see," Mirabelle said slowly. Ebony barked happily as silence fell once more. "Hey, Charlie?"

"Hmm?"

"Would you… teach me how to track like you do?"

Charlie pulled back on Storm's reigns a little in surprise. "What?"

"You heard me, don't make me repeat myself," Mirabelle said stiffly, feeling her face heat up. She didn't like asking the younger girl for help.

"Oh, I dunno," Charlie grinned evilly to herself. "It's sort of a 'rangers only' sort of skill…"

"What?!" Mirabelle squawked. "But you're not a ranger either!"

"T-that's different!" Charlie spluttered. "I'm the daughter of a ranger!"

"It still doesn't make you a ranger!" Mirabelle shot back.

"But it a special case! It's only natural that I learn my dad's skills!"

"Alright, _fine!_ How about this, if you teach me how to effectively track people, I'll teach you how to use a sling like I do." Mirabelle proposed.

Charlie narrowed her eyes, looking at her suspiciously. "…deal." She agreed, reaching out her hand for Mirabelle to shake.

"Deal," Mirabelle repeated, taking her hand and giving it a firm shake. Ebony gave a particularly loud bark and chased her tail as they withdrew their hands. Charlie watched her for a couple of moments.

"It's getting dark," she finally said. "We should set up camp." She looked into Mirabelle's determined face. "I can start teaching you the basics today, and tomorrow you can show me the basics of using a sling."

"Defiantly," Mirabelle nodded, brightening visibly as she swung out of her saddle. She stretched and strolled a few steps away before sinking onto the ground.

"Here," Charlie said, swinging down from her own saddle and tossing her a flint and stone. "Gather some sticks and try to get a fire going, I'll clear off the ground and try to set up some tents." Mirabelle looked at her, somewhat shocked. "What?"

"Nothing," Mirabelle replied, standing up and heading a little ways into the forest. Charlie sighed, thinking she knew what it was – Mirabelle probably had never worked a day in her life, asking her to do so now had probably been what shocked her. Charlie rolled her eyes and began to unpack the tents.


	6. Chapter 5

**Direwolfgirl: Okay, I am sorry to say that we still do not own LOTR or RA **

**Flipy010: Well, I finally rewrote those letters :D **

**Direwolfgirl: About time! **

**Flipy010: Shut up! I didn't see you working on those letters!**

**Direwolfgirl: *throws Sam's frying pan at Flipy010***

**Flipy010: *fails at dodging and gets hit in face***

**Direwolfgirl: Please review and enjoy! **

Chapter Five- Following the… whose footprints?

Will nudged Tug forward, scanning the ground for any prints. Luckily for him, Halt's kidnappers didn't bother to hide their passage and all Will had to do was follow the trail of broken branches. Tug whinnied quietly, happy to be moving again. Somewhere up in the trees birds twittered happily. A gentle breeze was blowing through the trees and the sky was a dazzling bright, clear blue. Though it was such a beautiful day, Will didn't enjoy any of it. Worried gnawed at him like an unforeseen beast, and he could only think about what would happen if Halt died. He shook his head to clear the thought from his mind.

* * *

It was two days since he had left his home, and he still hadn't seen any sign of the kidnappers. He heard the sound of the ocean and it finally dawned on him that he had traveled for two days straight with no rest. Tug was breathing heavily and he finally relented and reined him in. Will climbed down out of the saddle. He loosened the girth on the saddle and settled down onto the ground, wrapping his cloak around him. He soon sank into a light, troubled sleep.

* * *

Tug nudged Will with his nose, trying to awaken him. "Wha..." He said, before realizing that he was trying to rescue Halt. He didn't know how long he had even been asleep, but judging by the fading light, it had been for most of the whole day. He hurriedly tightened the girth before climbing back into the saddle, eating half a loaf of bread as fast as he could. He then sent Tug off into a steady loping gallop, trying to make the best of the fading light. The roar of the ocean grew even louder in his ears and Tug neighed a warning that Will never heard. Before he knew it, he burst out into a clearing and saw that he was hurtling toward the edge of a cliff. He tried to slow Tug down, but it was too late and he found himself tumbling down into the dark waters below. Cold seeped into his limbs and he tried to fight it, but ultimately gave up, weariness dragging at his bones.

**Direwolfgirl: Hehehe… cliff hanger. Raise your hands if you hate me.**

**Flipy010: *raises hand***

**Direwolfgirl: Fine, review if you hate me. Or if you like the story. You don't want to make me cry, do you? **

**Flipy010: Actually, I do.**

**Direwolfgirl: Shut it Flipy010.**


	7. Chapter 6

**Direwolfgirl: Just the usual stuff. And I still need reviews people! Guest or not, please review! Ebony will not die, since a very kind Guest reviewed. Flipy010 is busy using the credit we earned from the review to try to build a wall of the house that had, ah, burned down.**

Chapter six- Welcome to Middle Earth

Will's head was throbbing as he came back to reality. With a low groan, he opened his eyes, blinking rapidly as the sun fell brightly in his eyes. Tug neighed nervously and pawed repeatedly at the ground. Gritting his teeth, Will slowly sat up, only to be immediately greeted by a wave of dizziness. He grabbed hold of Tug's bridal and pulled himself upright. He gave himself a minute or two to wait for the spinning to stop before examining his surroundings in more detail.

He was facing a sheer cliff that he had to crane his neck to see the top of. The ground was a narrow strip of pebbles that appeared not to be very stable, because every time he took a step water ran up between the rocks. Staggering, he took some of his weight off of Tug, who was still neighing nervously and stamping his hooves.

"Well, Tug, it looks like we're stuck here," Will told the pony, looking cautiously back at the ocean. The waves were lapping gently at the edges of the section of the pebble path he was standing on, but he was willing to bet farther down waves were crashing mercilessly upon the loose rocks. As he was looking over the aqua waters, he heard a fell rocks tumble down from the cliff above.

Glancing up, he could vaguely make out the figure of someone standing at the edge of the cliff, staring down at him. The person then proceeded to climb down, moving with easy grace down the cliff. It was only when the person leapt down the last three feet that he saw that it was a girl. She had long dirty blond hair that was pulled back into a ponytail and startling blue eyes. And, unfortunately for Will, she was a great deal taller than him.

"Who are you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him and Tug.

"Will, Will Treaty," Will replied, "and this is my horse, Tug." He gestured to the sturdy barrel pony next to him.

"Well, Will Treaty, you certainly are lucky that you washed up on my usual fishing spot, otherwise you would have probably died of thirst or starvation."

"Hey, I could scale that cliff, you know," Will responded, irritated. "But I wouldn't want to leave Tug behind, that's all."

The girl snorted disbelievingly. "I don't really believe that you could scale that cliff, but if it floats your boat, I won't say a word about it. Now, I have an idea. It involves you scaling that cliff – of course, I could do it to but I want to put your so called 'scaling abilities' to the test."

The words were hardly out of her mouth before Will was scurrying up the cliff like a spider, and came to the top quickly. At the top of the cliff, there was a box-like structure attached to a sturdy pole by thick, heavy duty ropes. Wondering how he hadn't noticed it before now, he grabbed hold of the gear that lowered it and began to push on it. He paused he saw it hit the beach and waited for the girl to tug on the rope. After a longer time of turning the crank, her and Tug were soon safely up on the ground.

"So you really can climb cliffs," she mused. "I guess you must have some elven blood in you, then."

Will furrowed his eyebrows. "Elven what?" he asked blankly.

The girl rolled her eyes at him. "Elven blood. You must be related to elves, in other words."

Will was still confused, but was now not entirely sure if this girl was sane after all. "Uh, no, I'm not related to elves. I learned at a young age to climb trees and walls to escape from my childhood, erm, enemies."

The girl regarded him disbelievingly. "Okay, whatever you say… I'm gonna' take a wild guess here and say you don't have a place to stay? …Yeah, I thought so," she said, more to herself than to Will when he nodded. "Why don't you came back to my house? I have an extra room you can bunk in."

Will hesitated, unsure of whether or not he should agree, after all, he had just met this girl. But then weariness dragged at his limbs and he realized he was probably better off going with her than sleeping out in the open, practically inviting people to come rob him. Finally, he offered a shrug, "Yeah, okay I guess." After all, he was famished and a night in a bed would go a long ways towards his recovery. "Do you have a stable I can put Tug in?" he asked as he followed her down the path.

"I have a small stable – I my horse is stabled there but I guess we can make it work somehow," She replied over her shoulder.

"Well boy," Will murmured to Tug, "it's better than nothing, and really, what choice do we have?" he sighed as he fondled the horses nose, his thoughts drifting farther and farther away.


	8. Chapter 7

**I am so sorry, please forgive me. I will continue to write this story, it's just taking me awhile. Yes Flipy010 is still working with me, and no, we don't own Ranger's Apprentice or Lord of The Rings. **

Will looked around the small house. The girl whistled a merry tune as she went about cooking a simple stew. "So, where are you from? Rohan?" She asked, curious.

"Rohan? Ah…" Will stuttered, confused again. "Where is Rohan again?"

The girl turned around. "Did you hit your head or something? Or are you just seriously stupid?" She asked, attempting to raise an eyebrow but failing at it.

Will sighed. "Look, I'm just not… from around here, okay? If you want to know, I'm from a kingdom called Araluen. I am also a Ranger." He said, not realizing what that would imply in Middle Earth.

The girl gasped, and then blinked in confusion. "For a moment I thought that you might have been a Gondorian ranger, but I must be mistaken. I have not heard of Araluen, but I do believe you. I had seen another man with the same cloak as you in a group of orcs, so I assume you may now him?"

Will opened his eyes wide. "Halt passed by here?! Wait, what are orcs?" He asked.

"Ugly creatures of a hideous nature. It is not a good thing that they have your friend."

Will's face fell. "Will they kill him? Will he be alright? Why didn't you try to save him?" He went off on many more questions, curious and angry.

The girl held her hands up. "I don't particularly have a death wish, and taking on twenty orcs by myself would get me killed. I don't know if they will kill him, as I believe they might have had a purpose if they kidnapped him. I think I might know someone who could help, but that will have to wait until the morning. I'm Silens by the way." She said, smiling.

"I'm Will. Will Treaty." Will answered, scrutinizing Silens. She was tall and lithe, with long blonde hair and striking green eyes. Yet there was an air of grace about her that he had never seen before, as well as a mystifying beauty.

"Stop looking at me like that." Silens snapped then sighed. "It is a curse that I must carry, being half-elf, yet it is also a blessing. How can any man not be intrigued by a supposed human with a certain elven grace?" Silens said, hanging her head over the stew, the moist steam collecting on her brow. Will watched her, confused.

"You don't know what an elf is, do you?" Silens asked, sighing. "Well they are… I don't know how to explain what they are. But perhaps you can see one for yourself; King Legolas should be in Minas Tirith. We'll stay here for now and in the morning we'll go." She said, stirring the stew before placing it in a clay bowl in front of him. "You can sleep in the second bedroom, which is through that door right there." She pointed to a door just off the kitchen before disappearing down a hallway. Will ate his stew quietly, deep in thought about the new world. He eventually just began to hit his head against the table. "Are you okay?" Silens asked, standing behind him.-

"I am just fine, thank you. It's not like I'm losing my mind or anything. I'm stuck in the godforsaken land with no clue what to do."

Silens growled behind him. "I would slap you right now, but I won't. And this 'godforsaken' land is called Middle Earth. I don't care what sauron-flipping problem you have, but you don't have to take it out on me. Now I believe that I know someone who could help you, but you are going to have to be patient. Minas Tirith is a good three day ride away, so please, just relax, sleep, and in the morning we'll go." With that said, she turned and 'accidently' hit his head before storming off down the hallway again.

"Stupid half-elf bitch…" Will muttered under his breath, getting up and walking into his room. It was much like the room he had slept in as an apprentice, small and cramped. Sighing, he threw himself on the bed, immediately drifting off into a troubled sleep.

He awoke to a sharp pain in his head and opened his eyes to see Silens leaning against the door-frame, whistling casually and holding a pan. "Good, you're awake. I've already saddled the horses. Now come on, you're taking up daylight." She again left, her blonde hair twirling out behind her. Will stubbornly lay in his bed until he heard angry whinnies coming from outside. He rushed out into the clear dawn to see Tug loping out, bucking crazily with Silens on his back. "This is just like riding a warg!" She called, laughing.

"Get off him you crazed lunatic!" Will cried. He was further convinced that she was psycho when she began to babble in a strange language. It was only when Tug calmed down and stopped bucking that he openly gaped. "How did you…" He trailed off, leaping off the porch and landing quietly on the ground. He got furious when she began to ride circles around him on Tug. "Get off. Now." He snapped, annoyed with her. She just laughed again and whistled. A small brown mare trotted into view and she nimbly leapt off Tug onto the mare. Will swung up onto Tug and he followed Silens, trotting at a steady pace.

They entered Minas Tirith on the fourth day of riding and Will was blown away. It was large and made out of white stone that seemed to glow. Silens walked her horse, River, through the streets, smiling at the peasants who walked by on their daily business. "Welcome to Minas Tirith, the capital city in Gondor. We will be going to see the king, Aragorn. Please be respectful to him, he can be… violent… sometimes…" She trailed off as they neared the castle. They were stopped at the castle gate by two soldiers who looked at them curiously. "State your business."

"We are here to see the king. We have some news about an orc party traveling through the area."

The soldiers looked at them before gesturing for them to continue. Silens spurred her horse forward toward the stables. A young, kind of pretty, elven stable hand came out to take their horses. Tug whinnied angrily, not wanting to leave his master. After much tugging, the girl finally got Tug into the stables. Silens dragged Will into the castle, leading him through many twists and turns before finally arriving in front of two large, oak wood doors. Upon examining the carvings, he saw that one was of a city being burned by a dragon. Silens followed his gaze. "That's Smaug. He burned a city knownas Dale." Knocking on the large double doors, she pushed them open and walked into the large throne chamber. Sunlight streamed through the large glass windows built into the dome and a man was reclining in a large throne wrought from silver. As Will grew closer, he saw that golden branches encircled the throne, casting an interesting pattern onto the white marble floor. The man straightened up on the throne as the two drew closer. About three feet from the throne, Silens stopped and bowed. "Greetings my king." Will followed her lead and bowed as well.

"What brings you here half-elf of Mirkwood?" The king inquired.

"We have troubling news, my lord, about an orc party traveling through your kingdom. They kidnapped this fellow's friend- uh, what was his name again?" Silens said.

Will cleared his throat. "His name is Halt O'Carrick, ranger of Redmount. From what we have gathered, he was out shooting when he was taken by surprise."

The king looked surprised and confused. "He was a ranger? But we don't have a place called Redmount here, and the name doesn't sound familiar."

"Let me clarify. I am not from here and neither was Halt, we are from a kingdom called Araluen. It is rare for someone to be able to sneak up on Halt, which is why I'm worried that they may have done something to him." Will said, taking a deep breath, his patience ebbing.

Aragorn looked thoughtful. "I will see what I can do and I will send out my messengers. This will take a few days and in the mean time I wouldn't mind it if you helped me out a bit around Gondor. You don't have to go far, only to the outlying villages around Minas Tirith, but I have been hearing reports about some thievery. If you could go and check them out, I would appreciate it much."

Will considered this. "I will help you, but only until I here word about my friend, Halt." Will said carefully, juggling the idea around in his mind.

Silens spoke up again. "I will help him as well. I feel like I owe it to him." Silens added as an afterthought.

Aragorn nodded. It was common for the people of Gondor to feel the need to repay a debt with service of one kind or another. "Very good! Please, feel free to wonder. I will confer with my captain to see which village you should travel to first. Also, I would like you to meet a friend of mine who might be willing to help. His name is Legolas…"

**What did you think? Seriously, I wouldn't mind your opinions, in fact, I, no **_**we**_**, will much appreciate them! Flipy010 will be writing the next chapter, which is going to go back To Charlie and Mirabelle… See yall around! **


	9. Chapter 8

**Hello, all, its flipy010! I know I haven't been writing much lately, but I can explain. ****I didn't feel like it**** I had a Language Arts project, and recently my deivantART account has recently been flooded with people 'discovering' me… (it's awesome). Anyways, we STILL don't own LOTR or RA, because, for some reason, the author's wouldn't hand over the legal claims… no idea why…**

Ugh!" Mirabelle screeched, throwing her hands up in frustration. Tracking was turning out to be way more difficult than she had realized, and the lessons weren't going as well as she had envisioned them to be.

Charlie frowned at her disapprovingly, her arms folded across her chest. She understood how Mirabelle felt about the situation, but it was no reason for her to start yelling. "Calm down," Charlie sighed. "You're doing fine for a beginner. It takes lots of patience to learn how to effectively track."

"I've had patience!" Mirabelle fumed, now pacing among the trunks of the forest where they had camped. "But all you're teaching me is which track is what! I get it, okay?! That's ones a fox, that one, a bird, and hey – guess what?! _This one's a friggen' MOUSE!"_

"So you _are_ learning something," Charlie couldn't resist making the barbed comment.

Mirabelle whipped around to glare at her, "And great use it'll be to know what a _mouse's_ tracks look like!" she snarled, before resuming her pacing.

Charlie sighed before uncrossing her arms and going to sit near the smoldering campfire. Tossing several branches onto the hot coals, she gestured for Mirabelle to sit next to her. For several moments Mirabelle looked like she was going to refuse, but then she flung herself down with more force than necessary. Charlie privately hoped that she hurt her butt a little; she deserved it for yelling at her anyways.

Charlie sighed and closed her eyes for moment as she thought of what to say. "Knowing what tracks belong to a mouse may not be a skill you'll need to know very often, but _you_ asked me to teach you how to track. And to learn how to track you need to learn which tracks belong to specific animals." Mirabelle said nothing, merely angrily watched the branches in the fire slowly catch fire.

Charlie took a deep breath and continued, hoping to placate her friend. "Tracking strengthens our awareness of what is around us and helps maintain a dynamic relationship with the natural world, to know and understand the environment." She looked over at her friend, hoping to see a change of expression, but Mirabelle was now giving the fire a death glare. "Learning to identify the tracks of animals is only the first step, and for this you have to learn not only to distinguish clear, but also to recognize track patterns and animal gaits. If you learned only the former, you will succeed in perhaps 5% of track identification instances.

"The second step is track and sign interpretation. Tracks and signs invite you into the animal's world, so you'll want to go beyond track identification and ask questions about why the animal is there and what it's doing. What if it were scared away by something, such as a person? That's useful to know, especially if you're tracking someone, or even hunting.

"And then, of course, the last part is the actual tracking. You can follow very fresh trails, or even ones that are weeks old. The key to trailing is being able to move forward with enough confidence and trust that you're not stuck in tedious track-by-track progress. However, you must also confirm every now and then that you're still on the trail." A tense silence fell over the two of them. Neither one wanted to speak. Biting back a snarl, Charlie got up from the forest floor. "You asked to learn how to track, and I am doing my best to teach you," she shot over her shoulder as she walked away.

"What was that?" the way Mirabelle said it was more of a statement than a question.

"What was what?" Charlie asked, confused and somewhat startled at the sudden outburst.

"Just now. You went into teaching mode and gave me a whole speech," Mirabelle replied, not looking at her.

Charlie paused thoughtfully. "I don't know," she confessed, "it just sort of happened."

"It's just… so hard. These lessons aren't going the way I imagined them at all," Mirabelle sighed, resting her head upon her knees.

"It takes time," Charlie began.

"Easy for you to say," Mirabelle cut her off. "You picked up the sling skill like it was nothing." Charlie wisely did not respond. There was no way for her to deny the fact, anyways.

"Mirabelle, I-"

"I'm think I'm going to turn in for the night," Mirabelle interrupted. "See you in the morning." And without waiting for a reply, she rolled into her cloak and fell asleep.

LINEBREAKER

"GET – UP!" Charile howled, attempting to drag Mirabelle from her spot on the ground.

"No!" Mirabelle shouted back. "Just give me three more freaking minutes!"

"You said the same thing – THREE MINUTES EARLIER!"

"Fine! I'm up, okay! Happy now?!" Mirabelle cried, shooting up off the ground.

"Not really, no, but I suppose it'll have to do," Charlie smirked. Dodging Mirabelle's thrown dirt clot, she made her way over to the horses. "I got Silver ready for you," Charlie told her, swinging into Storm's saddle.

"This is just cruel," Mirabelle frowned. "Riding immediately after I woke up." But she gave no further complaints and swung into the saddle with only the smallest of groans. Their fight after last night was not spoken of, nor were any of their feelings of anger brought to the surface.

Suddenly Charlie gasped and pulled Storm up short. "Hey," Mirabelle said, annoyed, "what's with the stop?"

"That," Charlie whispered, her face full of terror as she stared off the cliff.

"Oh, that," Mirabelle whispered, equally terrified. The tracks they had been following led directly off the cliff, and she could see no sign of the ranger and his horse anywhere. "W-wait! Where are you going?!" she cried as Charlie suddenly turned and made her way down a thin path, if it could even be called that.

"I'm going to find my father," Charlie replied stiffly. There was only a moment's hesitation before Mirabelle turned Silver to follow behind her. Silver neighed nervously and momentarily refused to go forward, but Mirabelle coaxed her forward eventually.

"Are we seriously going down that?" Mirabelle whispered fearfully as she stared down the narrow path of pebbles. Charlie did not respond, but she didn't need to. _Of course they were following it_, her expression said. She glanced once again at Charlie but did not complain again as they headed down the narrow path. "At least it looks like the good weather is going to hold for a while," Mirabelle tried to offer some form of encouragement, but only received a grunt in reply.

Mirabelle had never been more wrong in her life.

**DUN DUN DUN. Cliffhanger – AGAIN. I bet you hate me :D**


	10. Chapter 9

**And I am back to this story. I felt the need to update everything, so, yeah. This is going back to Will, Silens, and now Legolas and their quest to find the mysterious thieves. I wonder who they might be… (Darn the luck of it all, Flipy010 burnt the apartment we were renting down as well. I never should have given her those matches…) **

**Direwolfgirl: Hey! Thanks for sticking with this story, even if it is kinda out there XD. Remember to review, because they are greatly appreciated and you will get a virtual Legolas doll! XD **

**Flipy010: Nice Direwolfgirl, bribe the people…. Also, don't forget to say we don't own LOTR or RA.**

**Direwolfgirl: No, You just said it.**

**Flipy010: Say it! *throws a punch at Direwolfgirl and gets into a fight* **

(Venatora's P.O.V)

Yang whined beside Venatora, nudging her hand with his head. Vereor drummed her fingers against the side of the building, thinking hard. Yin sat curled up on Yang, quite content to sleep on the wolf's back. "What are we going to steal now?" Venatora asked, voicing the question that was one both of their minds.

"We could steal gold or something, but I am getting hungry. Perhaps we could steal a chicken?" Vereor offered.

"No, why don't we steal a coin purse instead? That way, we could buy something honestly." Venatora smiled, stroking Yang's head.

"I wouldn't necessarily call it 'honestly' per say, but why not? Why don't you talk to the animals and see if they could put on a show?"

Venatora nodded turning and kneeling beside the animals. More often than not they would listen to her and do as she asked. She called it a gift, Vereor called it a side-effect of being nuts. "Yang, if you could chase Yang around and 'attack' Yin, which would really help us out. And if you do well we'll get you a chicken to share, okay?"

Yin hoped off Yang's back and the black fox trotted into the street. Yin barked once before following, his tail wagging. Vereor waited for the shout then slipped out of the alley, followed closely by Venatora. Venatora led the way and watched the 'fight' play out between Yin and Yang.

(Vereor's P.O.V)

Vereor turned from the fight and focused on a green-clad stranger. He appeared to be interesting in a dagger that a trader was showing him. She gestured for Venatora to go and distract the trader. "Oh my gosh! My dog is being attacked by a savage fox! You there, please help me!" Venatora rushed up to the trader, grabbing her arm. "Come on, you have to get the fox away from him!" Venatora practically dragged the blond-haired girl away. Thankfully, everyone on the street became interested in the screaming elf and the fight. Even the stranger was surprised by what had happened and watched the trader as she tried to chase away the fox.

Vereor stayed in the shadows and made no a noise as she creeped toward the stranger. Her fingers twitched by her side as she saw him draw his cloak away from his belt for a moment. She caught sight of a money bag and quickened her pace, wanting to get it over with. The stranger had stepped a little ways from the small both and had his back to her. She reached out hand and slowly began to untie the knot, her touch light as a feather, when his hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. "Did you honestly think that that would work on me? I may have been surprised by your performance, but I am not easily fooled." The man snarled.

Vereor noticed smugly that she was taller than him. "Sorry to break it to you, but your threatening demeanor loses its effect if the person you're threatening is taller than you." She gave him a smile before she slammed her free hand into his nose, hearing it crack upon impact. Wrenching her hand free, she turned and ran, shouting at Venatora as she passed. "We've been found out! Run!" She screamed.

Venatora smiled at the crowd. "Well, looks like I have to be going. See you soon!" She turned and ran, snatching a chicken from an outdoor coop in the process. Yin and Yang took off as well, snarling at the bystanders. The trader rushed over to the man before taking off after them. "That didn't go as planned, but at least I have dinner!" Venatora grinned, holding up the chicken that was pecking at her fingers.

Vereor wasn't as amused by her joke. "Great, now we can be charged with grand-theft chicken as well. Thank you Venatora, for that amazing display of stupidity."

"Watch it or I'll throw the chicken at your face." Venatora warned, holding the chicken in a threatening way.

"Oh, wow, a chicken. I'm shaking in my boots." Vereor said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. Venatora frowned but said nothing more. Vereor led the way to the stables where Nox and Terror were already saddled and waiting for them. Unfortunately, there was also another person there, mounted on his horse and when Venatora saw him she skidded to a halt and dropped the chicken that hurriedly dashed away.

"Venatora!?" Legolas cried, leaping off Arod and striding up to her. Pulling her into a hug he held her at arm's length and smiled at her. "I should have known that it would have been you two. Trouble always seems to follow in your wake!" He cried, shaking his head. "And now I know why that horse looks so familiar. It's Nox, isn't it?"

Venatora slowly nodded, her cheeks a bright red. "Err, I found Vereor?" She offered up hesitantly, unsure of what to say.

Legolas laughed and clapped a hand to her shoulder. "That you did my friend, that you did. Little did I know, you two became Aragorn's biggest pain-" He was interrupted when the man and girl stalked over.

"You know them?" The girl growled, her eyes blazing.

"Calm down Silens, they're my friends. And I can assure you, Venatora normally behaves in a more civilized manner. It just so happens the Vereor will occasionally convince her to join her in one of her schemes. But they both mean well and they would have payed Will back, even if it is in a round-about way." Will remained unconvinced but Silens nodded.

"If you say so Legolas, then I suppose I will believe you." She said before heading into the stables.

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(Venatora's P.O.V)

"Aragorn, I demand that you let these two fine ladies go free without any charges, or at least Venatora." Legolas demanded in the throne room.

Vereor stomped her feet. "Dang it, Legolas! You are a traitor! I refuse to talk to you anymore!" Vereor lifted her head high, hurt.

Aragorn rubbed his temples. "Will, would that be okay with you? She did attack you."

Will looked over at Vereor and Venatora. "I suppothse thasth it wouldths be okay wits me." Will slurred, his broken nose heavily bandaged.

Aragorn nodded and sighed. "Then you two can go free with no charges. But please, just don't do anything else stupid."

Venatora hugged Legolas, smiling widely. "Thank you, just thank you!" She said.

Legolas hugged her back. "Think nothing of it. I couldn't have my dearest friend stuck in a Gondorian dungeon, now could I?"

Vereor snorted and rolled her eyes. Venatora released Legolas and turned to Aragorn. "Thank you my lord for being so generous and lifting our charges. I promise that we will try exceedingly hard to stay away from any trouble in your kingdom."

Legolas strolled to Aragorn. "Could Venatora and Vereor attend the feast tonight? I would love to have them as company."

Queen Arwen answered before Aragorn could even speak. "Of course they can! We can't have them getting into anymore trouble, now can we?" She said.

Venatora bowed deeply. "We would be honored to attend your feast." She straightened up again. "However, it upsets me to say that my companion and I have now appropriate attire for tonight's feast."

Queen Arwen clapped her hands together. "Nonsense! You can borrow one of my dresses! No come along, for you both are in desperate need of baths."

**LINEBREAKER LINEBREAKER LINEBREAKER**

(Venatora's P.O.V)

After many they had bathed, Arwen showed the two many dresses. After what seemed like thousands of dresses, Vereor finally settled on a simple emerald green dress with settle drapes. Venatora, however, instantly fell in love with the first dress shown to her. It was a long dark crimson dress that matched the crimson in her hair, and it had embroidered gold flowers along the hem of the sleeves. It was matched with an indigo necklace, earrings, and a wolf brooch. When Vereor came out in her dress, Venatora made disapproving clucks. "Get that metal out of your face!" She said, hands on her hips. Vereor made a face at her, refusing to take out the piercings. In the end, however, she ended up in the corner pouting, a simple emerald necklace around her neck and plain, simple emerald earrings adorning her ears.

"Why do I even have to go? Legolas invited _you_ not me." Vereor complained, still glaring from the corner.

"No, he invited both of us. Besides, I can't trust you alone, and the Queen is expecting us now. So you're coming, no matter what you say. I will drag you to the feast if I have to." Venatora snapped, growing impatient. "Now stop acting like a child and show some dignity!"

Vereor stood, moving away from the wall but was still glaring. "The only reason why you're going is because Legolas invited you, and you know it. You also know that he only added my name to be polite, because everyone knows that he likes you." She said angrily, hoping that Venatora would lose her temper. She just barely dodged the vase hurled at her head, and she snickered when Venatora stalked out, slamming the door shut behind her.

**LINEBREAKER LINEBREAKER LINEBREAKER**

Venatora watched as Vereor made faces at her from across the table and she rolled her eyes. "She apparently has no experience in acting her age." She muttered to herself as she bit into a roll.

Legolas overheard her and smiled. "No, she doesn't. But do not despair; there is hope for her yet! We can make a lady out of her yet."

Venatora raised an eyebrow, pausing in the destruction of what once was a potato. "I highly doubt it, but believe what you will." She continued in the destruction of the potato, stabbing it mercilessly while Vereor made signals to her that only she could understand.

Legolas leaned over, his hair tickling her neck, and whispers; "What is she doing? She looks like an idiot."

Venatora fought back the urge to hurl a knife at her when Vereor burst into a fit of snickering. Biting back a string of curses, she forced a smile onto her lips. "Yes, she does look like an idiot, doesn't she?" She commented stiffly before returning once again to kill any food that happened to be on her plate.

**Direwolfgirl: I totally won that fight!**

**Flip010: No, I did! *pants***

**Direwolfgirl: *winces in pain* How about we call it even?**

**Flipy010: Fine…**

**Direwolfgirl & Flipy010: We do not own LOTR or RA!**


	11. Chapter 10

**Oh lookie! I actually got off my butt to type something! *le gasp* I know, huge shocker. But really you should know the only reason (probably) that this is currently being typed is that Dire and I are having a typing spree. You should probably go thank her :/ We still don't own either story.**

**And now my reply to a review Ranger Robbin posted, who is probably the person who has reviewed the most.**

**It really all depends upon what the story is about. Like ours, obviously, there is an adventure across two lands, so that is how we chose the name. Think about the plot and try to choose something that covers the gist of it. But if you still can't think of anything, try listening to songs. The point is to listen for phrases that could work. I've done this a lot and have compiled a huge list of title ideas. **

**Now: onto the story! **

Chapter 10

The wave slammed into her mercilessly as she scrabbled fruitlessly at the rocks. A fruitless scream clawed its way out of her hoarse throat. Already the backlift of the wave was dragging Mirabelle away from the rocky path cutting across the ocean. Thrashing weakly, she scrambled for a hold, but to not avail. She was in no condition to even hope of holding on. Her hands burned and stung, but she took no notice.

Rising with the water as a new wave formed, her heart thumped in terror. Terror of hitting the rocks, terror of never seeing Charlie, terror of never being found. Thousands of possibilities flew through her mind as the wave reached its climax and curled over. Mirabelle screamed with all her heart and closed her stinging eyes, holding up her arms in a desperate attempt at protecting herself. Her heart felt like it was going to burst as she felt herself tumbling downwards.

The air in her lungs was forced out by the sheer force of how hard she hit the water. Disoriented, she barely had time to righten herself before tons of water slammed into her. Vaguely, she realized it was the wave crashing down upon her. She emerged from the water coughing, her lungs trying to empty themselves of water. Mirabelle gave up on her burning eyes, instead focusing on staying afloat. We're going to die here, she thought hopelessly as she felt the familiar pull at her clothes.

"Mirabelle!" a voice called weakly from somewhere on her left. Charlie, Mirabelle thought thickly. She opened her mouth to shout a response, but all that came out was a weak moan. And suddenly she could see her friend, see her being lifted by the wave. She tried once again, and again. She kept on trying till the ocean threw her back into the water. And suddenly she was there.

"Mirabelle!" Charlie rasped beside her, grabbing onto her soaked cotton shirt.

"Charlie," she groaned back weakly, flailing to try and stay above water.

"Chin up!" her friend ordered. "Whatever you do, keep your head above the water." Mirabelle did as she was told, trying to focus mainly on keeping her head above the ocean surface. It helped a little, but not much. Her throat convulsed as she tried to speak. Nothing came out. "What?" Her friend rasped. "What is it?" Feeling like her arm was made of lead, she dragged her arm up and pointed. "Oh damn," was all Charlie said as she too looked upon the approaching wave.

"Curl up into a ball! NOW!" She screamed at Mirabelle. "Shut your eyes and don't open them until you're above water! And hold you nose as best you can!" Charlie let go of her to follow her own advice, leaving Mirabelle to drag her body into position. Oh god, oh god, oh god, was all that flashed through her brain as she was lifted up, higher than any previous wave before. This is it, flitted through her brain as her ears filled with the roar of the ocean. I'm going to die now, _we're_ going to die now.

But they didn't. They resulting crashed crushed her, forcing the air out of her lungs. She was thrown so far under the surface she thought she might drown. A bright light filled her sight briefly upon impact. It all pushed her to the point of unconsciousness. Not quite all the way there, but close. No, was pushed her over was her own horse, Silver.

The familiar colored pelt of her beloved horse thrashed beside her, and weakly she tried to stroke her horses pelt, to grab hold of her and calm her, anything. But Silver was in a full scale panic, and she neighed and whinnied in terror. Her legs pumped beneath her as she thrashed about. Lost in the momentary happiness at finding her horse, Mirabelle failed to notice the danger that lay with it.

The back right hoof, the horseshoes gleaming brilliantly in the water, connected with the small of Mirabelle's back, with the full force of the horse's panic behind it. A bright light briefly filled her vision before everything began to fade. Instantly, she was aware of the agony spreading from her back, and she screamed blindly. Distantly, she heard Charlie screaming her name before everything went blank.

* * *

The horse was what woke him. Loud and nearby, most likely foraging. Had it been abandoned? Perhaps. But, he consoled himself, there's nothing wrong with selling it off to a good owner. It all depends, he thought to himself as he weaved down the tree branches. Whether it was fit, athletic, or what breed, well-trained, wild or tamed. But even if it is owned, I guess I'll just have to… relieve the owner of it.

Ah, so now owner, he thought triumphantly. But, I wonder, who would abandon such a horse. Obviously purebred and well cared for, he noted, examining the horse with a highly trained eye. Actually, upon closer inspection, this horse is covered in something. Salt perhaps? Was it by the sea? He shifted thoughtfully upon his branch, causing the leaves to flutter sporadically. No matter, he shrugged to himself, swinging down from the branch.

The horse jerked its head around to inspect him as he landed. Its short white fur was absolutely covered in salt; its mane was even matted with the stuff. The eyes were slightly bloodshot, he observed, most likely as a result of getting sea water in its eyes. "Where did you come from?" he mused aloud, approaching the horse and patting its nose. His sharp eyes took note of the horseshoes, all cared for and in good shape.

One of the back legs, the right one, had dried with a pinkish tint. Most likely it had been covered in some red liquid that stained the fur a little. The horse, which had been looking at him quietly until now, neighed and shook its head, flinging some salt around.

"I know," he told it quietly, "all that salt must be pretty itchy, huh?" The horse neighed and pawed the ground, almost as if it had responded to his question. He chuckled quietly, taking hold of its reins. "C'mon, let's go find a river," he said happily, thinking of the hefty price the horse would fetch once it was in its utmost condition. The horse followed him willingly as he weaved among the tree trunks.

After a few minutes of walking, he heard the familiar squelching of the ground beneath him. The sound of the river gurgling past soon followed. "Well, here we are," he told the horse cheerfully, unhooking a bucket from his belt. The horse shook its mane in appreciation and trotted forward a few steps to drink from the stream. He watched the horse for a moment before rolling up his leather pants a few inches and stepping into the stream. He shivered as his skin made contact with the chilly water.

Seconds later the same chilly water was cascading over the mare's back, who neighed in complaint. "Yeah, yeah, I know, but we've got to get this salt off." Many potential buyers would try and get a lower price for it simply because it was salt covered. Actually, he realized, not _it_ but rather, _she._

"Silver," he read aloud as he scrubbed the horse down. The name had been sown expertly into the saddle. The distant snapping of branches drew his attention, and he whipped around, his bright green eyes scanning the undergrowth while his left hand dropped to a dagger hanging off his belt. The sounds came closer at a leisurely pace, and he could feel knots of tension forming as he waited, ready to defend his find.

How surprising it was when a second horse trotted forward, in a state similar to the mare. Obviously, it had been drawn by the sound of the river. The white horse neighed a greeting to the mottled gray one.

"Ah! Can it be that my luck is so good?" he cried aloud. "Two horses in one day! And neither of them had to be stolen!" Both horses looked at him quizzically after his outburst. He grinned to himself, turning casually and ignoring the second horse. He continued to wash off the horse, Silver. Predators, he knew, would be focused on the animal, and approaching the second horse could spook it.

A couple minutes passed and there was little movement from behind him, other than the horse going forward to drink. He sighed a little and set down the bucket. Don't walk directly towards him, he reminded himself. Approach from the side, and keep your body tilted away from him. Soon he was close enough to offer his hand. Suspiciously, and keeping an eye on him, the horse leaned forward and sniffed his hand. The ears flicked upward, a good sign.

Cautiously, he leaned forward and grabbed hold of the reins. "Good horse," he said encouragingly, turning and leading the way back to Silver.

…**Wow. That's more than I usually write. I actually had to stop here because if I went on I felt like I may not stop for a long… long time. Anyways, I PURPOSELY did not give the stranger at the end a name. Yes. He is a thief. And I know ranger horses won't follow you if you are facing them, I have the books. But really, if he was leading Storm back to Silver, he wouldn't walk backwards. Moving on! Please tell me what you think of all this! I did my best to describe the ocean scene, and trying to describe their fear as best I could. I dunno, did I do good? Anyways! Till next time!**


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